The present invention relates to a device for removing teat cups comprising traction members driven by a drive for each teat cup to be removed from a teat of the animal to be milked in the direction of a teat cup magazine.
The invention will be described below with respect to the milking of cows. It is pointed out though that the present invention is also suitable for milking methods and milking devices for milking sheep, goats, camels, dromedaries, buffaloes, yaks, elks, horses, and other lactating animals. The invention may be applied in conventional milking, machine milking, and semi-automatic milking. Application is also conceivable in systems where the teat cups are placed to the animal teats semi-automatically or fully automatically or robot-assisted and/or computer-controlled.
A device for removing teat cups of a milking unit from the teat of an animal is known for example from U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,877. In this known prior art, two pairs of parallelogram arms of an articulated parallelogram structure, each of which arms forming a teat cup magazine for one single teat cup, grip beneath the animal to be milked to both sides of the animal to be milked. Preparation, i.e. placing the teat cups on the teats, occurs by pivoting the arms of the parallelogram structure, thus lifting the teat cups up toward a teat. After set-up the parallelogram arms with the teat cup magazines are pivoted to take a rest position.
During milking the teat cups are thus freely suspended, being held to the teats by way of the suction vacuum. Each of the associated teat cup. When milking has ended, the drive is actuated so as to retract the traction member into the parallelogram structure in the region of the teat cup magazine and to remove the corresponding teat cup from the teat. The associated teat cup is held substantially vertical by holding ropes fastened in the region of the upper teat cup edge and held under tension by way of driven winches above the teat cups and to the side of the animal to be milked.
The known device does allow to remove the teat cups individually from each quarter meaning that each teat cup is removed separately and gently, thus enhancing the well-being of the animal to be milked. However, due to the considerable quantity of mechanical components the device has been found to be too costly and prone to failure.